The Consolidation of Criminal Laws

[Added by Marjie Bloy Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore from Park's British Prime Ministers of the Nineteenth Century: Policies and Speeches (1916). Alvin Wee and Lee Xin Rui of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences created
the electronic text using OmniPage Pro OCR software, created the HTML version,
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The following speech is one of many which Sir
Robert Peel gave before the House of Commons on the question of criminal
reform. It was delivered on February 22, 1827. It can be found in HANSARD
(XVI [N.S.], 632-42).

Sir Robert Peel came to represent the leadership of the criminal law reform
movement in 1823. Previously, much effort for this reform had been expended
by Sir Samuel Romilly and Sir James Mackintosh, who were anxious to alter
the laws that filled the prisons and were not
unmindful, therefore, of the related movement of prison reform itself. The
names of John Howard, Jeremy Bentham and Elizabeth Fry will always remain
incised in the mind of a public concerned with the developments of this latter
movement. But criminal law reform — the more important of the two movements
— depended on the public's understanding that security for neither life nor
property had resulted from extreme penalties, such as was implied by punishment
by death for some two hundred offenses. Hence, Sir Robert's approach to the
problems described in this speech is the kind of approach which engendered
confidence in his leadership and which permitted him to reduce ultimately
the number of offenses calling for capital punishment to a mere half dozen.

Mr. Secretary (Secretary for the Home Department)
Peel rose to bring forward his promised motion. He had now, he said, agreeably
to that motion, to apply to the House for leave to bring in four bills, having
for their object the simplification and consolidation of the statutes relating
to the Criminal Laws. The first of those bills was intended to consolidate and
amend the laws relating to theft, and the various offences connected therewith.
The second was to amend the law relating to another class of offence against
the subject, namely, a wilful and malicious injury of property. The third bill
for which he should move, would be to consolidate and amend the laws relating
to remedies against the hundred. And the fourth bill which he should submit
to the notice of the House, would have the effect of repealing such statutes
as would be superseded by the three first bills, in order not to encumber the
Statute-book, by the introduction of separate acts of parliament for the attainment
of that object. By this means, the three bills which he had already named would
not be impeded in their operation by clauses and enactments contrary to their
spirit.

He had entered last session so fully into the policy and necessity of amending
the criminal statutes, that he was not sure whether it was at all necessary
to enforce the reasoning which he then used, [95/96]
or to trouble the House with a repetition of his views, notwithstanding some
of the members whom he had now the honour to address were not in parliament
on that occasion. Indeed, it required no very powerful reasoning to show the
necessity and policy of consolidating the criminal laws of this country, and
of simplifying, as much as possible, those statutes relating to crime and misdemeanour,
which had hitherto created so much error and confusion in our courts of justice.
Such a course as that of revising and consolidating confused and unintelligible
statutes appeared so consistent with reason and common sense, that he scarcely
thought it necessary to adduce any arguments in its favour, where all whom he
had the honour to address must agree in the necessity of the measure. He was
therefore quite satisfied that the House would sanction the part which he had
taken, and confirm the support which his predecessor had given to the subject.

The House, however, was not called upon to give a blind judgment: on the contrary,
he wished and expected that honourable gentlemen would reserve to themselves
the power of expressing an opinion on a subject of such vital importance. Although,
however, he had suggested many changes, he had not, after all, proposed any
very important alterations in the criminal statutes; because he was desirous
of proceeding gradually in the course of improvement, and to avoid as much as
possible the use of rash experiments. What he wished was, to collect all that
was valuable from existing statutes, and to preserve from a mass of contradiction
and confusion, various clauses and provisions introduced at different periods
into our criminal laws. He was desirous of selecting all that was worthy of
being preserved, in order to present to the House a useful and efficient statute,
and thus to place as it were in juxta-position all the law connected with the
criminal jurisprudence of the country. It was his wish to abolish every part
of the criminal statutes that could not with safety be acted on, and to accommodate
the laws relating to crime to the present circumstances of the country, and
the improved state of society.

Feeling, therefore, that the House would agree, least, in principle at to the
measures which he intended to propose, he did not think it necessary to trouble
them with any further arguments, but would proceed at once to explain the present
state of the law relating to theft, which was the subject of his first bill.
It was the practice, in criminal courts of justice, to distinguish between grand
and petty larceny, and to award different punishments for each crime. It appeared,
however, that the only difference between them consisted. in the amount of the
property stolen; for thus the law stood on the subject. If a man was convicted
of stealing an article [96/97] under the value of one
shilling, it was simple larceny, punishable at the option of the magistrate
before whom the case was heard; but, if the property stolen exceeded one shilling
in value, the crime was called grand larceny, to which a capital punishment
was attached.

Now, after giving to the subject his best consideration, he could not see the
necessity of retaining the distinction which the law laid down in these cases.
There were many inferior courts spread throughout this country, which had power
to take cognizance of, and to try persons charged with, the crime of petty larceny,
but who had not power to try for the crime of grand larceny. The consequence
of this was, that both courts and prosecutors, feeling the great expense and
inconvenience of sending persons charged with these offences to be tried by
the higher tribunals, agreed to evade the law, by stating in the indictment,
that the value of the article stolen was less than one shilling. These instances,
it was true, were not very creditable to the parties concerned, but they furnished
ample reasons for abolishing all distinctions between grand and petty larceny.

He would, therefore, unite the different species of the crime of larceny under
one general law; and he would fix, as the maximum of punishment, a sentence
of transportation for seven years. It was hitherto the custom to mitigate the
sentences affixed to the crime of grand larceny; but he owned he could not see
the reason why, if the power existed, a criminal convicted of this crime should
not be transported for stealing to the value of two shillings. There was a material
difference between grand and simple larceny, when a prisoner was twice convicted,
A man who repeated the crime of grand larceny, was liable to a sentence of death,
without benefit of clergy. He meant to propose, that the capital punishment
should be dispensed with in this instance.

He would propose also to do away with a term which had long been mixed up with
the criminal law of England. He meant the "benefit of clergy." It
was extremely difficult to apply the term "without benefit of clergy"
to any particular crime and, to say what was a clergyable offence. It appeared
to him, that the law in this particular should be simplified. Instead of saying,
therefore, that the man who commits grand larceny a second time was guilty of
a capital offence, without benefit of clergy, he proposed to substitute the
punishment of transportation for life. This would serve to make the law more
clear and intelligible; and he was sure that the House would go with him in
every alteration he proposed, whereby the number of capital crimes might be
lessened. Thus, the man convicted of grand larceny a second time would no longer
be subject to death. In proposing this alteration he was aware, however, that
[97/98] it was not very material; as it rarely occurred
that the penalty of death was put in force when a man was convicted of grand
larceny a second time; but it was right at the same time, that the law in this
particular should be clear and determinate; for it was one of the just objections
brought by foreigners against the criminal laws of England, that we condemned
men to death for crimes, who were never executed, and whose sentence was, in
fact, never intended to be carried into effect. It would therefore be a material
improvement, if, in every available instance, we could erase capital punishments
from the Statute-book, and provide milder punishments, and thereby avoid the
mockery of condemning men to death, merely because that penalty was attached
to the crime which they had committed.

He proposed also to mitigate the penalty for stealing in a dwellhouse to the
value of forty shillings. According to the law, as it now stood, the penalty
of death was attached to that crime. A distinction, however, he conceived should
be made; and there were cases in which the punishment of death might be considered
harsh and unnecessary. He therefore meant to propose, that the sum of forty
shillings should be raised to a higher amount; by which means the number of
capital convictions for this species of crime would be considerably diminished.

He was not prepared to say whether or no it might not be necessary to go further
in the plan of reducing the number of capital convictions. Much had lately been
done, and much remained to do; but he thought he might claim some credit to
himself for having done more towards the great and important object of improving
and consolidating the criminal statutes of this country, than any other individual
who had gone before him. He never was an advocate for the infliction of capital
punishments, and he thought it would be found, on comparing the executions for
the last five years, in which he had presided at the home department, that they
had not increased in number, as compared with those that had taken place in
former years. Willing as he felt, however, to reduce the amount of capital convictions,
he advised the House not to be led away too far by mistaken feelings. If parliament
were to proceed too rapidly to overthrow the existing enactments, a strong prejudice
might arise in the country against measures that were intended for the public
good; and thus the great object of justice and humanity might be defeated.

With respect to the law relative to malicious injuries to property, which his
second bill was intended to embrace, he conceived that it might be beneficially
altered, and confined within proper limits. He conceived the punishment attached
to the crime of cutting down [98/99] hop-fences, stakes,
hedges, etc., was neither clearly nor properly defined; and therefore he proposed
to abrogate the law altogether, and try the effects of a milder punishment.
Without entering more fully into the particular clauses of each bill, of which
the committee, whose appointment he anticipated, could best judge; he would
now only refer to the general principles upon which he came forward to claim
the countenance and support of the House. Notwithstanding the very able assistance
he had had, he felt considerable difficulty in drawing up the bills which he
hoped to be allowed to introduce; owing to the number of abstruse and unintelligible
phrases which he found it necessary to use, in compliance with the usage of
the law in this particular. The endless repetition of words; the confusion of
the singular and plural number; the frequent use of the words "party or
parties," "defendant or defendants," "corporations,"
or "persons," had always, he confessed, puzzled him beyond measure,
whenever he had occasion to refer to an act of parliament. He had, therefore,
in the bills which he had framed, avoided as much as possible the confusion
arising from the frequent introduction of words and phrases; and at the commencement
of each bill, he had defined the precise punishment for each particular crime,
adding to the end of the bill, in order to remove any doubt occasioned by the
ambiguity of the language, that the word "person," when mentioned
in the body of the bill, should be taken to mean the party accused, whether
man, woman, or child, and that the same should hold good, with regard to owner,
defendant, or defendants, or by whatever term the accused party might be designate.
(There is omitted a discussion of fees and improvement in the office of coroner
and other offices. ) . . . . .

He must also say, that he had another motive for proceeding gradually and slowly
in this matter. It was necessary to carry along with him all the instruments
engaged in the administration of justice; for if too many changes were suddenly
made in the laws of daily and ordinary occurrence, and if what was declared
law was not executed well, no advantage would result to the country. He was
aware, that a more splendid fame might be acquired by attaching his name to
the introduction of a new code of law, as had been done elsewhere; but greater
advantage to the country would be gained by convincing the people, who were
justly attached to their ancient institutions, that the circumstances which
had given rise to them, were either altered or gone by; that they [99/100]
could be amended and improved; and that the rust and impurity which they had
acquired, by the lapse of time and carelessness of legislation, could be removed
without injuring their substance or impairing their strength. The House would
confer greater benefits on the people by reconciling them to the improvements
which it sanctioned, and by showing them that those improvements could be made
without any practical inconvenience, than by attempting too much at once in
the shape of innovation, and by leading them away by splendid illusions of general
improvement. He would be content, if by his humble efforts, a gradual reform
could be effected in our criminal law, without leading to any great practical
inconvenience: and be trusted that, so far from dissatisfaction being excited
by the attempts of the House to accommodate ancient usages to the necessities
of modem times, the attachment of the people to those usages would be increased,
by their being convinced that the foundations of those usages were only widened
to receive additional strength, and that it was wiser to amend them where they
were defective, than to maintain them steadily because they were antiquated
imperfections. He would now move, "That leave be given to bring in a bill
for consolidating and amending the laws in England, relative to Larceny, Burglary,
and Robbery."

References

Park, Joseph Hendershot.
British Prime Ministers of the Nineteenth Century: Policies and Speeches. New York: New York University Press, 1916.